Foreword by Norman Apsley, CEO, Northern Ireland Science Park
While the Northern Ireland Science Park is focused on developing the region's hi-tech capabilities, it is very proud of Northern Ireland's industrial heritage, particularly the Titanic which has such close connections with NISP's site on Queen's Island, Belfast.
Although the Titanic set sail on her ill-fated maiden voyage from Southampton, the ship's origins lie in Belfast where she was designed and built by Harland & Wolff. The major work of fitting out the ship and preparing her for sea trials took place right on the site of the Science Park's headquarters.
Titanic was the technological marvel of the Edwardian age, an example of what the combination of capital, entrepreneurship and innovative thinking can achieve - and a testimony to what can be achieved by today's champions of the knowledge economy. Over 800 ft long and with a displacement of 53,000 tonnes the Titanic was the largest and most opulent liner ever built. Constructing the Titanic and her sister ships (Britannic and Olympic) was a massive technological challenge in itself, requiring the building of a huge gantry weighing 6,000 tons, 840 ft long, 270 ft wide and 228 ft high.
Powered by two massive steam reciprocating engines generating 15,000bhp and a steam turbine, the Titanic contained many innovations, including 15 electrically operated water-tight bulkheads. As everybody knows however, even these were not sufficient to save Titanic from disaster on the night of April 14th 1912 when she struck an iceberg at 11.40pm